


Subversion

by ddagent



Category: Roswell (TV), Stargate Universe
Genre: Episode Remix, F/M, Romance, Torture, communication stones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 08:57:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/860317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddagent/pseuds/ddagent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tess Harding had hoped for a quiet day at home until her old mentor turned up on her door in another person's body looking for help. Tess/Nick rewrite of 'Subversion'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Subversion

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Stargate Universe, Roswell or any of their characters, or their settings - all belongs to the respective institutions.
> 
> This is a little oneshot to celebrate my eight year ficiversary. Hope you enjoy! : )

Tess had called in sick for work, not wanting to go over her failed calculations for bringing the Destiny crew home yet again. She wanted Nick on Earth more than anyone but she did _not_ feel like dealing with Colonel Telford on such a sunny day. Instead she had resigned herself to sitting out in the courtyard of her apartment complex and reading a mediocre book while her nails dried.

 

As she opened the door to head down, Tess found herself face to face with the man she had been trying to avoid. Colonel Telford wasn't in uniform, rather he was wearing jeans and a checked shirt and a rather off putting smile. The last time she had seen Telford had been during the committee meeting where he had supported her continual drugging while she worked with Homeworld Command. His snide smile as the committee voted to keep using the serum to dampen her abilities floated to the forefront of her mind.

 

So she socked him in the nose.

 

Tess grinned as Telford stumbled back over her doorstep, his hand reaching up to clutch at his bleeding nose. He looked up at her, his eyes appearing betrayed."Tess! Tess it's me!" Telford sagged against the floor. "It's Nick. I'm using the stones."

 

 _Fuck._ Tess immediately scrambled to the floor to help Nick up, her hand resting over the one on his nose. She had known that the crew of the Destiny had been using the Ancient stones to take over someone's consciousness from across the universe but she had never seen Nick use them, or been invited to do so herself. Still, knowing Telford, Tess wasn't entirely trusting of the man before her.

 

When she finally had Nick settled in one of her armchairs she turned to him. "I need to know for sure. I handed you something the last time we saw each other. What was it?"

 

Telford smiled, a sight she still found unnerving. If he lied to her a bloody nose would be the least of his problems. But he didn't lie. "A bottle cap on a piece of cord. It was from the first Tabasco bottle I ever gave you." Nick smiled wider. "I still wear it."

 

It was him. Tess flung her arms around him, wrapping them around his neck to clutch him closer. Ever since the Icarus planet exploded she had been on edge, constantly expecting the call to tell her he was dead. But he was here, even if it was in Telford's body. She felt his shoulders, ran her fingers along his neck, all the while trying to believe she was holding onto Nick. But eventually she couldn't pretend any longer and pulled away.

 

When she met his eyes they were soft, softer than she had ever seen Telford's gaze. His hand, a hand that had once pushed her up against a wall, brushed her cheek."It's so good to see you, Tess. I've missed you."

 

"I've missed you too."

 

X

 

It was strange, being in someone else's body. Getting used to the feel of their hands, the weight of their frame. It was like wearing someone else's skin. Nick didn't like it very much. He liked the reason why he was in Telford's body in the first place even less. But despite the danger of infiltrating the Alliance, he was getting to see Tess. The past few times he had used the stones he had sought her out, even requested that he be taken to her apartment. But, no doubt on Telford's orders, he had been denied.  

 

None of that mattered now.

 

Nick watched as Tess made them both a cup of coffee in the kitchen. She looked good, better than his imagination had provided. Her blonde hair was longer. Her frame looked healthier than on Icarus. They were still drugging her, of that Nick had no doubt. But in simple jeans and a camisole she looked _incredible._

 

Time was a funny thing. Only a few hours had been the difference between Tess being escorted onto the Hammond and the Lucian Alliance attack on the base. If she had stayed, if Telford hadn't wanted her out of the way for the test, then his former student would be on Destiny with him rather than still on Earth. He had need of her expertise in cryptography. He needed someone he could trust. "So you'll help?"

 

Tess smiled at him as she passed him the coffee mug he always used when he was at her place. "Of course! Anything to stick it to Telford, you know that. I'm in your corner as long as it doesn't hurt you, Nick. I'm still hoping you'll come back."

 

Nick bobbed his head, his hands reaching forward to hold Tess' own. "It's everything we talked about, Tess. She's old, beautiful. Her potential is incredible. What she could teach us about the universe; about the Ancients themselves...I wish you were there."

 

"Me too."

 

As the conversation dwindled they both stared at their clasped hands. It had been some time since they had touched; since they had brushed fingers or clasped each other in a hug or even had Tess' lips press against his cheek. Nick stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, marvelling at how his calloused fingers felt against her. He had forgotten how smooth her skin was.

 

But then Tess pulled away. He shouldn't have been so bold. When Tess had left him alone on the Icarus planet they had been friends, nothing more. But she had been on his mind more and more since he had been separated from her, his dreams and fantasies rapidly becoming all about the blonde billions of light-years away. Sadly it didn't seem she felt the same. "Tess."

 

"I just can't get over it, you know?" she said, scrunching herself up in the armchair. "The person I like the most in the whole universe is in the body of the person I hate the most in the whole universe. Why couldn't you come into O'Neill's body, huh? I like O'Neill."

 

Nick chuckled, and before long Tess started laughing too. She hadn't denied him, and Nick promised himself that as soon as the whole Lucian Alliance issue was dealt with he would take her out for dinner to that steak joint they liked. There he could talk about how he felt and whether Tess was up for the longest long distance relationship in history.

 

But before then he had to face the Alliance. His phone rang, a meeting was organised. Tess agreed to go with him for support, the drug in her system unable to let her do more than that. Still, he wouldn't have gone without her. In, out, information gained, Telford court-martialled. Then dinner along the river.

 

Sadly the one dream he hadn't had with Tess in proved to be less than fruitful and an hour and a half after they had held hands both he and Tess were prisoners of the Alliance.

 

So much for dinner.

 

X

 

This wasn't the first time she had been kidnapped. There had been the issue with the Skins, a couple of problems with the FBI before she had started working with Homeworld Command. So chains and the threat of torture was not new ground. However, as far as Tess was aware, it was for Nick. He was chained a few feet from her but there was nothing she could do to help him. Her wristwatch told her she still had a few hours left before her dose wore off. Till then all she could do was watch her friend be tortured.

 

"Who _are_ you?" the leader - Kiva - asked Nick, one of her men sticking Nick with a torture device as he failed to answer. She saw the red jolt of electricity pass into Telford's body, but it was Nick who cried out in pain, who winced and screamed as the body he wore was tortured.

 

Another question was asked, another question not answered. Another session of pain. But before the process could be repeated again one of the Alliance came into view with a file in his hand. Tess could see the pages, see the photographs inside. Photographs of Kyle, and Jim. _Telford_. That scumbag had taken her file from the Pentagon and given it to the Alliance! The next time she saw him, she would kill him.

 

Thankfully their attention on Tess gave Nick a respite. Kiva walked towards her, a smile not unlike Telford's stretched across her face. "So you are _the_ Tess Harding. The alien with the incredible brain capacity."

 

"I prefer the term 'hybrid'," Tess explained, bracing herself for the alien cattle prod. "It's more accurate."

 

Kiva laughed. This was _not_ good. "Yes, of course. I'm glad to have you with us, Ms Harding. Your work has greatly impressed us. I understand that Homeworld Command has been drugging you with a serum for quite some time. It dampens the neurotransmitters in your cerebral cortex, dulling your various...skills. Please believe me when I say that we will not. We want to use you to your full potential."

 

Nick had once said similar words to her but this Kiva was no Nicholas Rush. She wouldn't help them, especially when it could risk everyone she held dear. "Not likely. I may be half Antarian but I consider myself Tau'ri. So thank you for the offer but _bite me_."

 

Her body wasn't expecting the cattle prod that time and she screamed in pain as electricity rippled through her. Tess bit her lip, trying to contain the pain she felt but she could not. It was all too much. There were no questions to answer, just unbearable pain. Still she would not give in. She couldn't risk endangering her family in this galaxy, or the man she cared for billions of light years away. She _wouldn't_.

 

Nick had no such qualms. As another jolt of electricity went through her he screamed out.  

" _Stop!_ I'll do whatever you want, tell you whatever you need. Just don't hurt her."

 

The cattle prod moved away and the pain began to lessen. Tess collapsed against the cold stone, daring to look across at Nick. Even wearing Telford's face she could see he had been scared for her. He offered her a weak smile before turning to Kiva. "Rush. I'm Nick Rush. There, you have your answer. Now _leave her alone._ "

 

Kiva nodded to her men and Tess felt the shackles around her wrists loosen. She went straight for Nick who had also lost his chains. She rubbed her fingers around his wrists, desperately wishing she had her powers back. She wanted to make those red marks disappear from his skin. "Why do I get the feeling that that was a mistake?" Tess whispered, helping Nick up against the wall.

 

His fingers brushed against her cheek. "You're okay. That's all that matters."

 

"Since when did you get so sentimental?"

 

A cough brought them back to the room, the smile on the leader of the Alliance making Tess' stomach churn. Tess was proved right fairly quickly. Nick's promise to help in exchange for her safety had been a deal with the Devil. The Alliance wanted to go to Destiny and they wanted to use Nick and Tess' research to help get them there.

 

It seemed the chances of Nick returning safely to Earth were shortening by the minute.

 

X

 

Nick had believed that if he could just stall the Lucian Alliance for a while then Young and O'Neill could find out where they were from Telford and they could come rescue them. But his attempts to do so had only resulted in someone's death. With the next gun pointed at Tess' head, Nick couldn't keep hoping for rescue. He had to bend to the Alliance's will.

 

He and Tess pored over his figures, changing them to suit this planet's particular power needs. Tess was invaluable, as he knew she would be. However, he could see her hands shaking. Eventually she turned to him, needing to spill whatever was on her mind. "When they dial, what's going to happen to us?"

 

Nick's fingers hesitated on the keyboard. He looked at her, her whole body deflated. They were people of science. Kidnapping and torture didn't agree with them. "I don't know. I hope - I hope they take us through with them. I don't care about Telford and as long as Young hasn't left my body on a planet on the other side I'll be fine. But I brought you here. I don't want to get you killed because I needed you."

 

Tess hesitated for a moment before sliding her arms around him, clinging to his back. He held on tight; not knowing if this would be the last time he held his Tess. He had always thought that they would return to Earth eventually and that they would see each other again. Nick had already spent time working on the presentation he would give to the military to allow Tess to rejoin the project. They could be on Destiny together, like how it should have been in the first place. He had never imagined it would end like this.

 

Suddenly the whole complex began to shake, dust trickling down from the ceiling. Kiva came running towards them, jerking Nick back from Tess' arms. They had run out of time. "Doctor Rush, can we dial the Ninth Chevron?"

 

There were no changes in the planet's surface so Nick concluded that the cavalry had finally come. Considering they were still in the pyramid rather than on a ship somewhere meant that beaming Tess and he out was not an option. Their only way out was through the Stargate. Nick only hoped that Young would be able to contain the Lucian Alliance threat when they came through. "We can."

 

"Good. Dial it up. We're going to Destiny."

 

Reluctantly, Nick pressed the few buttons that would dial the Stargate to Destiny before he and Tess were led from the viewing platform to the Gate. As far as he was aware, Nick would be the first person to go through the Stargate using the communication stones. He had no idea whether the connection would be troubled temporarily or whether it would be severed completely upon going through. The idea of leaving Tess alone with Telford and the Alliance scared him beyond reason.

 

"Tess." He clutched her hand just as her wristwatch beeped. The serum that prevented her from using any of her powers had worn off. Smiling, Tess brushed a hand through his hair and for a moment they were not prisoners and he was not stuck in Telford's body.

 

Instead they were outside that steak house they liked in D.C, the one that overlooked the river. It was an illusion created by Tess, but it _felt_ real. He could feel the warmth of the dying sun on his face, could feel the texture of his cotton shirt on his skin. He could see the sun shining through Tess' hair, could see the wind gently lift it off her shoulders. He could feel his own fingers, his own hands and arms. He was Nick once again.

 

Tess didn't say anything. She just placed a soft hand against his cheek, brushing against his stubble. With a smile her other hand joined in cupping his face, bringing his mouth down to meet hers. Her lips parted his, pressing against him in a gentle first kiss. His stomach jolted as she continued to kiss him, the sensation of her lips making him lose his mind.

 

All too soon it was over. "We can finish when I see you again."

 

Nick sighed, his lips tingling after Tess' kiss. "Till then, Ms Harding."

 

She grinned, her illusion disappearing into reality. "Till then, Doctor Rush."

 

He gripped her hand as they were forced through the gate, his thumb now free to stroke against hers. Nick felt the wormhole wash over him before they came out the other side. His last thoughts as his consciousness was ripped from Telford's body were of Tess.

 

Nick only hoped he had the chance to finish that kiss. 


End file.
